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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments x xi
Preface xxiii
List of Tables x xix
List of Figures x x xi

CHAPTER 1 An Overview of Ethics 1

CHAPTER OUTLINE 1

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 2

INTRODUCTION 2

W H AT I S M O R A L I T Y ? 3

D E S C R I P T I V E A N D N O R M AT I V E M O R A L I T Y 4
Descriptive Definitions of Morality 5
Etiquette, Law, and Religion 5
Normative Definitions of Morality 6
W H AT I S “ E T H I C S? ” 7

M E TA E T H I C S 7
Metaphysical Issues 8
Psychological Issues 9
Egoism and Altruism 9
Emotion and Reason 9
Male Versus Female Morality 10
N O R M AT I V E E T H I C S 10
Teleological Ethics 10
Deontological Ethics 11
Virtue Ethics 12
APPLIED ETHICS 12
Professional Ethics 14
Codes of Professional Ethics 15
The Importance of Professional Ethics 15

vii
viii CONTENTS

T H E R E L AT I O N S H I P B E T W E E N M O R A L I T Y A N D E T H I C S 16

M O R A L I T Y, E T H I C S , A N D T H E C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E P R AC T I T I O N E R 17

Case Study 1.1. Discovering Personal Values 18

T H E N AT U R E A N D S O U R C E O F P R AC T I T I O N E R VA L U E S 18
The Occupational Career of the Practitioner 19
The Moral Career of the Practitioner 20
VA L U E S I N AC T I O N : T W O M O D E L S O F T H E C R I M I N A L
JUSTICE PROCESS 22
Crime Control Model 22
Due Process Model 23
Summary 24

Thought Exercise 1.1: Ethical Issues and the Exercise of Discretion

in Criminal Justice 25
Key Terms 25
Discussion Questions 26
Resources 26
References 26

CHAPTER 2 Systems of Ethics 29

CHAPTER OUTLINE 29

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 30

INTRODUCTION 30

SYSTEMS OF ETHIC S 31
General Distinctions 31
F O C U S I N G O N B E H AV I O R : T E L E O L O G I C A L E T H I C S 32
Ethical Egoism 32
Critique of Ethical Egoism 33
Act Utilitarianism 33
Critique of Act Utilitarianism 35
Rule Utilitarianism 36
Critique of Rule Utilitarianism 36
F O C U S I N G O N B E H AV I O R : D E O N T O L O G I C A L E T H I C S 38
Kantian Ethics 38
The Categorical Imperative 39
The Hypothetical Imperative 40
Critique of Kantian Ethics 41
Religious Ethics: Divine Command Theory (DCT) 42
The Euthyphro Dilemma 44
Modified Divine Command Theory 44
Critique of Divine Command Theory 45
F O C U S I N G O N C H A R AC T E R : V I R T U E T H E O R I E S 48
Virtue Ethics 48
 Content s ix

Arête, Phronesis, and Eudaimonia 49

The Concept of Virtue 49
The Temperate and the Continent Person 50
Critique of Virtue Ethics 50

Thought Exercise 2.1: Using Force: The Temperate and the Continent
Police Officer 51
Summary 52

Thought Exercise 2.2: Ethical Issues and Privatizing the Police 53

Key Terms 54
Discussion Questions 54
Resources 55
References 55

CHAPTER 3 Moral Dilemmas in Criminal Justice 58

CHAPTER OUTLINE 58

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 59

INTRODUCTION 59

THE MORAL ARENA 60

MOR AL DILEMMAS 62
The Role of Emotion in Moral Dilemmas 63
Categories of Moral Dilemmas 64
Epistemic and Ontological Dilemmas 65
Self-Imposed and Other-Imposed Dilemmas 65
Obligation-Based and Prohibition-Based Dilemmas 66
Moral Dilemmas and Conflicting Obligations 66
Resolving Dilemmas: Common-Sense Morality? 66
M O R A L D I L E M M A S A N D C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E P R AC T I T I O N E R S 67
Moral Dilemmas and the Police 68

Thought Exercise 3.1. Obligations and Moral Dilemmas

Involving Police Officers 69
Moral Dilemmas and Prosecutors 69

Thought Exercise 3.2. Moral Obligations and Moral Dilemmas

Involving Prosecutors 70
Moral Dilemmas and Defense Attorneys 71

Thought Exercise 3.3. Moral Obligations and Moral Dilemmas Involving

Criminal Defense Attorneys 72
Moral Dilemmas and Judges 72
Moral Dilemmas in Corrections 74

Thought Exercise 3.4. Moral Obligations and Moral Dilemmas

Involving Judicial Elections 74
x CONTENTS

Thought Exercise 3.5. Moral Obligations and Moral Dilemmas Involving

Probation/Parole Officers 76

Thought Exercise 3-6. Moral Obligations and Moral Dilemmas

Involving Corrections Officers 77
Summary 78

Case Study 3.1: Whistleblowing in the Criminal Justice System 79

Key Terms 80
Discussion Questions 80
Resources 80
References 80

CHAPTER 4 Moral Reasoning and Criminal Justice Ethics 84

CHAPTER OUTLINE 84

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 85

INTRODUCTION 85

MOR AL REASONING 86
What Is Moral Reasoning? 86
The Process of Moral Reasoning 87
Recognizing Moral Issues 87
Attending to Moral Facts 88
Sorting the Moral Considerations 89
Reasoning by Analogy 89
Resolving Conflicts Among Considerations in Moral Reasoning 89
Learning From Experience and Changing One’s Mind 91
Moral Learning From Moral Reasoning 91
Overturning Moral Theories 91
Moral Dumbfoundedness 92
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOR AL RE ASONING 93
Kohlberg’s Levels and Stages of Moral Reasoning 93
Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory 94
Methodological Issues 94
Problems With Kohlberg’s Theory 96
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR MOR AL REASONING 97
The Structure of Moral Arguments 98
Formal Principles of Moral Reasoning 98
General Rules to Guide Moral Reasoning 99
Normative Claims 99
Consistency in Thinking 99
Specific Rules in Moral Reasoning: Avoiding Errors 100
Mine-Is-Better Thinking 101
Double Standards 101
 Content s xi

Unwarranted Assumptions 101

Oversimplification 102
Hasty Conclusions 103
Tu Quoque 103
Moral Conventionalism 104
Moral Legalism 104
Moral Prudentialism 105
Slippery Slopes 105
Argument to the People 106
Red Herrings 106
Summary 108

Thought Exercise 4.1: The Ethics of Assembly-Line Justice 109

Key Terms 110
Discussion Questions 110
Resources 110
References 111

CHAPTER 5 A Framework for Analysis 114

CHAPTER OUTLINE 114

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 115

INTRODUCTION 115

A F R A M E W O R K F O R A N A LY S I S 116

A T E M P L AT E F O R A N A LY S I S 117
Facts 118
Details 118

Case Study 5.1: The Rookie and the Restaurant Tab 119
Ethical Issue 120
Identifying Moral Ideals 120
Substantive and Procedural Ideals 121
Principle of Respect for Persons 121
Identifying Obligations 123
Fidelity Obligations 123
Nonfidelity Obligations 124
Obligations in the Template 124
When Obligations Conflict 125
When Ideals and Obligations Conflict 125
Identifying Consequences 126
Types of Consequences 127
The Principle of the Double Effect 127
Implicit Opposites When Identifying Consequences 128
The Conclusion 128
xii CONTENTS

Case Study 5.2: The Hostess and the Police Officer 130
Summary 131

Case Study 5.3: The Ethics of Campaign Contributions for Judges 133
Key Terms 137
Discussion Questions 137
Resources 137
References 138

CHAPTER 6 Police Ethics—A Contextual Overview 139

CHAPTER OUTLINE 13 9

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 14 0

INTRODUCTION 14 0

THE FUNC TIONS OF POLICE IN MODERN AMERIC A 14 2

Prominent Features of American Policing 143
THE CONTE X T OF POLICE ETHIC S 14 5
The Individual Context of Police Ethics 145
Individual Characteristics and Police Ethics 146
Rotten Apples Theory 146
The Organizational Context of Police Ethics 146
Rotten Barrels Theory 147
The Community Context of Police Ethics 147
Rotten Orchards Theory 147
E T H I C A L I S S U E S I N T H E R E C R U I T M E N T, S E L E C T I O N , A N D T R A I N I N G
OF POLICE OFFICERS 14 8
Police Recruitment and Selection 148
Prehiring Procedures 151
Police Academy Training 152
Field Training 154
Ethical Issues in Field Training 156
The Police Officer’s Occupational Career 157
E T H I C A L I S S U E S A N D T H E C U LT U R E O F P O L I C I N G 159
Adaptations to the Stresses of Policing 159
Police Gratuities 160
Competing Views on Gratuities 161
The Exchange Nature of Gratuities 162
The Moral Career of the Police Officer 163

Case Study 6.1: Police Gratuities 164

T H E O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L E N V I R O N M E N T O F P O L I C I N G 16 6
Factors Affecting the Organizational Environment
of Police Departments 166
The Presence of Rules 166
 Content s xiii

The Police Chief 167

Supervisors 167
Department Resources 168
Recruitment and Selection 168
Ethics and Integrity Training 168
Internal Control Mechanisms 169
Summary 169

Thought Exercise 6.1: The Ethics of Preemployment Psychological

Evaluations (PPEs) 170
Key Terms 172
Discussion Questions 172
Resources 172
References 173

CHAPTER 7 Ethics and the Tactics of Policing 177

CHAPTER OUTLINE 17 7

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 178

INTRODUCTION 178

MODERN POLICE WORK 18 0

A Typology of Police Work 180
T H E U S E O F D E C E P T I O N BY P O L I C E 181
Deception During Investigation 181
Police Stings 182
Legal Limits on Deception During Investigation 182
Deception During Interrogation 183
Police Interrogation Techniques 183
The Reid technique 184
Critique of the Reid technique 185
Legal Limits on Deception During Interrogation 186
The Problem of False Confessions 187

Case Study 7.1: Police Deception and the False Confession:

The “Norfolk Four” 187
The Psychology of False Confessions 188
Deception in Court Proceedings 189
Police Perjury 190
Contributing Factors to Police Perjury 191

Thought Exercise 7.1. Police Officer Attitudes Toward

the “Blue Wall of Silence” 192
The Ethics of Police Deception 193
Alternatives to Police Deception/ Perjury 193
Moral Justifications for and Against Police Deception/Perjury 194
xiv CONTENTS

Public Attitudes About Police Deception/Perjury 194

Case Study 7.2: “Operation Heartland” 195

S U R V E I L L A N C E BY P O L I C E 196
Police Agencies and Surveillance 197
Passive Surveillance and Biased Policing 198
Profiling and Racial Profiling 198
The Problems with Profiling 199
The Ethics of Police Surveillance 200
Ethical Surveillance 201
T E AC H I N G A N D L E A R N I N G P O L I C E E T H I C S 202
Justifications for Teaching Police Ethics 203
To Whom Should Police Ethics be Taught? 203
Where Should Police Ethics be Taught? 204
What Should be the Goals? 205
What Should be the Content? 206
Summary 207

Thought Exercise 7.2: Minority Report and the Ethics of Predictive Policing 208
Key Terms 209
Discussion Questions 209
Resources 210
References 210

CHAPTER 8 Ethics and the Courts 215

CHAPTER OUTLINE 2 15

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 2 16

INTRODUCTION 2 16

T H E C O U R T R O O M W O R KG R O U P 2 17
Goals of the Courtroom Workgroup 218
Workgroup Dynamics 218
ETHICS AND PROSECUTORS 2 19
The Prosecution Function 219
Standards for the Prosecution Function 220
The Ethics of Prosecuting People 224
Narrowness and Cynicism 225
Discretion 226
Winning 226
Prosecutorial Misconduct 227
Prosecutorial Misconduct Defined 227
Types of Prosecutorial Misconduct 227
Prevalence of Prosecutorial Misconduct 228
Hurdles to Controlling Prosecutorial Misconduct 228
Harmless Error Doctrine 228
Absolute Immunity for Prosecutors 229
 Content s xv

Case Study 8.1: Prosecutorial Ethics and Pursuit of the

Death Penalty 230
ETHIC S AND DEFENSE COUNSEL 230
The Defense Function: Model Standards 231
Broad Functions of Defense Counsel 231
Relationship with Clients 231
Standards for Defense Counsel During Litigation 232
Standards for Defense Counsel Post-Conviction 234
Defense Tactics and the Ethical Issues They Raise 234
“Zealously” Defending Clients 236
“Rambo” Litigation 237
Returning Civility to Litigation 238

Case Study 8.2: Defending the Indefensible 239

ETHICS AND THE JUDICIARY 239
Functions of the Judiciary 240
Model Standards for the Judiciary 240
ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct 240
Code of Conduct for Federal Judges 242
Summary 243

Thought Exercise 8.1: Regulating the Practice of Law 245

Key Terms 247
Discussion Questions 247
Resources 247
References 248

CHAPTER 9 The Ethics of Legal Punishment 251

CHAPTER OUTLINE 2 51

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 2 52

INTRODUCTION 2 52

THE LEGAL PUNISHMENT OF CRIMINALS 255

Crime, Legal Punishment, and the State 256
Defining Legal Punishment 257
J U S T I F I C AT I O N S F O R L E G A L P U N I S H M E N T 2 57
Consequentialist Justifications for Legal Punishment 258
Deterrence 258
Incapacitation 259
Rehabilitation 259
Critiques of Consequentialist Justifications for Legal Punishment 259
Retributivist Justifications for Legal Punishment 261
Guiding Principles of Retributivism 261
Sentencing Guidelines 261
Critiques of Retributivist Justifications for Legal Punishment 263
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xvi CONTENTS

Other Justifications for Legal Punishment 264

Rights Forfeiture Theory 264
Critique of Rights Forfeiture Theory 265
Moral Education Theory 266
Critique of Moral Education Theory 267
C A P I TA L P U N I S H M E N T: A S P E C I A L C A S E 2 67
Capital Punishment: An Overview 267
Legal Aspects of Capital Punishment 268
Justifications for Capital Punishment 268
Race and Capital Punishment 269
Executing Innocents 270
The Death of Capital Punishment 272
Summary 272

Thought Exercise 9.1: Legal Punishment in Scandinavia:

A Different Response 273
Key Terms 276
Discussion Questions 276
Resources 276
References 277

C H A P T E R 10 Ethics and Institutional Corrections 280

CHAPTER OUTLINE 280

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 2 81

INTRODUCTION 2 81

INSTITUTIONAL CORREC TIONS AND PUNISHING OFFENDERS 282

Who’s Incarcerated? 283
The Characteristics of Incarcerated Persons in America 283
Ethical Issues and Prisons 286
P R I S O N S AS P U N I S H M E N T 287
Who Should Be Imprisoned? 287
What Do the Undeserving Deserve? 288
The Conditions of Confinement 289
Privatization 290
Abolition 291
PRISONS FOR PUNISHMENT 292
Correctional Staff in this Country 292
Ethics and Correctional Officers 293
Correctional Officer Duties 293
Correctional Officer Skills 293
The Occupational Culture of Correctional Officers 294
Types of Correctional Officers 294
Correctional Officer Code of Ethics 295
 Content s xvii

Ethics and Treatment Staff 297

Treatment Staff Code of Ethics 297
Ethical Issues and Correctional Officers 299
Reciprocity in Prison 299
Prison Corruption 300
Classifying Correctional Officer Misconduct 301
Understanding Correctional Officer Misconduct 301
The Lucifer Effect 301
Responding to Correctional Officer Misconduct 304
Ethical Issues and Treatment Staff 305
Respect for the Dignity of Persons 305
Who’s the Client? 306
Confidentiality 306
Refusal of Services 306
Responsible Care 306
Competence 307
Integrity in Relationships 307
Multiple Relationships 307
E T H I C A L I S S U E S A N D JA I L S 308
The Misuse of Jails in America 308
Summary 311

Thought Exercise 10.1: The Ethics of Solitary Confinement 312

Key Terms 314
Discussion Questions 314
Resources 314
References 315

C H A P T E R 11 Ethics and Community-Based Corrections 319

CHAPTER OUTLINE 319

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 32 0

INTRODUCTION 32 0

A N OV E R V I E W O F C O M M U N I T Y- B A S E D C O R R E C T I O N S 32 1
Probation: Its History and Administration 322
Parole: Its History and Administration 323
Intermediate Sanctions: History and Purpose 324
COMMUNIT Y CORREC TIONS OFFICERS 32 6
Characteristics of Probation/Parole Officers 326
Probation/Parole Officer Training 327
Ethical Standards for Probation/Parole Officers 327
The Occupational Culture of Probation/Parole Officers 329
Duality in the Role of Probation/Parole Officer 329
Ethical Implications of Probation/Parole Officer Duality 330
xviii CONTENTS

ETHIC AL ISSUES IN COMMUNIT Y CORREC TIONS 3 31

Acceptable Penal Content 331
Probation/Parole Officer Caseload and Workload 333
Arming Probation/Parole Officers 334

Case Study 11.1: The Probation/Parole Officer’s Dilemma 335

Offender-Funded Corrections 336
For-Profit Privatization of Community-Based Corrections 337
Summary 339

Thought Exercise 11.1: The Ethics of Electronic Monitoring (EM) 340

Key Terms 342
Discussion Questions 342
Resources 342
References 343

C H A P T E R 12 Ethics and Forensic Science 345

CHAPTER OUTLINE 345

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 346

INTRODUCTION 346

A N OV E R V I E W O F F O R E N S I C S C I E N C E A N D I T S P R AC T I C E 3 47
The Disciplines of Forensic Science 347
Forensic Scientist Hiring and Training 349
The Occupational Culture of Forensic Practitioners 351
F O R E N S I C S C I E N C E S TA N DA R D S A N D C O D E S O F E T H I C S 353
Ethical Standards for Crime Laboratories 353
Practitioner Code of Ethics 356
E T H I C A L I S S U E S I N T H E P R AC T I C E O F F O R E N S I C S C I E N C E 358
Laboratory Analytical Procedures 359
Insufficient Analysis 359
Dry-Labbing 360
Indiscriminate Analysis 361
Analyzing to Fit the Law 361
Courtroom Testimony 361
The Difference Between Science and Law 362
Closing the Gap 363
Privatization of Forensic Services 365
Obligations to Maintain Professional Competence 366
Keeping Up With a Changing Field 367
Proficiency Testing 367
Competency Testing 368
Certification 369
Continuing Education 369
Whistleblowing 370
Summary 373
 Content s xix

Thought Exercise 12.1: Questioning the Science Behind Forensic Science 373
Key Terms 375
Discussion Questions 375
Resources 375
References 376

C H A P T E R 13 Ethics and Criminal Justice Research 380

CHAPTER OUTLINE 380

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 3 81

INTRODUCTION 3 81

T H E R E S E A R C H P R O C E S S: A N OV E R V I E W 382
Human Inquiry and the Role of Science 382
The Rules of Scientific Inquiry 383
Social Scientific Research 383
CODES OF ETHIC S AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN RESE ARCH 385
The Nuremberg Code 386
Guiding Principles 386
The Helsinki Declaration 386
Guiding Principles 386
The Belmont Report 387
Guiding Principles 387
Impact of the Belmont Report 389

Case Study 13.1: The Prison Warden’s Dilemma 391

ETHICAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH 392
Why Care About Research Ethics? 392
Informed Consent 393
Accurate Information 393
Understanding 394
Voluntariness 394
Objections Surrounding Informed Consent 395
Confidentiality 397
Justifications for Confidentiality 397
Protecting Confidentiality 398
Managing Harm 399
Conceptualizing Harm 399
Conflicts of Interest 400

Case Study 13.2: Conflicts of Interest in Criminological Research 402

Contributing Factors 403
Researcher Safety 404
Issues in Researcher Safety 405
Addressing the Risks of Harm 406
Integrity and Misconduct 406
xx CONTENTS

Frequency of Scientific Misconduct 407

Reasons Scientific Misconduct Occurs 408
Preventing Scientific Misconduct 408
Summary 410

Thought Exercise 13.1: Ethical Issues in the Use of Self-Reports

to Study Crime 410
Key Terms 412
Discussion Questions 412
Resources 412
References 413

C H A P T E R 14 The Future and Criminal Justice Ethics 417

CHAPTER OUTLINE 417

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJEC TIVES 417

INTRODUCTION 418

A PRESCRIPTION FOR THE FUTURE 419

The Organizational Context of Criminal Justice Ethics 419
Modeling Ethics 422

Case Study 14.1: The Organizational Context of Ethics: The LAPD

Rampart Scandal 423
Proactive Strategies 424
Hiring Toward the Community 426

Thought Exercise 14.1: The Advantages of a College Degree for

Decision-Making Skills 427
Evaluate Agency Practices 428
Summary 430

Thought Exercise 14.2: The Ethics of Presumed Guilt 430

Key Terms 431
Discussion Questions 432
Resources 432
References 432

Index 435
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 Adequate study demands not simply that an abundance of data
which bear on the problem be secured, but that the validity of the
data be brought into question. Children ought not to accept blindly
the statements of books or even of the teacher. The one thing which
characterizes the student is his search for truth, his attitude of inquiry
as opposed to an appeal to authority. It is well for children at times to
question the statements found in their books when experience
suggests the doubt. It is equally important, of course, that they be
willing to acknowledge their mistake, should proof be forthcoming in
support of the book. If a child really studies, he must, even as an
adult, find statements of fact, the records of observations or
experiments, which are at variance with the evidence which he
already possesses. It is just in this particular that the student differs
from ordinary men who allow others to do their thinking for them. The
student may not be able to settle the question, and so forms a
judgment which is frankly tentative. Children ought to have the
experience of finding that there are some questions to which a
definite answer cannot, in the present state of knowledge, be given.
They should be shown, wherever possible, how the conclusions of
men on some of the most important problems that have been studied
have changed from time to time. They can at times be made to
realize the folly of overhasty generalization.
No one has learned how to study who has not been trained to
reflect upon his experience, whether the experience has been
recently acquired with the express purpose of solving his problem, or
is some more remote element in experience which may shed light on
the question in hand. A skillful teacher can guide in this process of
reflection, and will later tell them what is meant, and demonstrate for
them something of the value of the practice. It is quite worth while for
a student to know when he has concentrated his attention upon a
problem, and just what is meant by reflection. Many older people
deceive themselves into thinking that they are exercising themselves
in these directions when a slight acquaintance with the elements
involved in fixing attention or in reflection might awaken them to the
futility of their practices. There need be nothing occult or hard to
understand about the practice of study. It is not a matter of
terminology nor of a systematic course in psychology, but rather
consists in guiding the individual in his practice of the art, and then
making known to him the elements in his experience which have
meant success or failure. It may be enlightening to compare the
emphasis upon careful examination of data, the formation of
tentative rather than fixed judgments, the guarding against hasty
generalizations, and the emphasis upon reflection with the steps of
presentation, of comparison and abstraction, and of generalization in
the inductive lesson, and with the corresponding steps of the
deductive lesson. The conviction will probably be deepened that
when the teacher instructs the student in the art of study she is
making available for him the method which she employs in
instruction. This must be the relationship; for the teacher can do
nothing more than take account of the way the child learns, and
adapt her method to his possibilities.
The habit of verification is one of the most important from the point
of view of learning how to study. The questions which the student
must constantly ask himself are: “Can the conclusions be applied?”
“Do they always hold?” “Does it work?” Fine-spun theories are of
little avail, however much satisfaction the originator of them may
have found in deriving them. At every step in the progress of his
thought the conclusions must be tested by an appeal to known facts.
The teacher cannot too frequently insist upon this step as the
criterion of the worth of the thinking which has been done. And the
insistence will be necessary, for it seems natural for human beings to
become so enamored of their theories that they hesitate to expose
them to the test which may prove them false.
Teaching children to memorize: Throughout the school life of the
child, memorizing is a regular part of his work. If practice alone were
necessary, every child should soon learn how to do this kind of work
in the most economical manner. The great difficulty is that often
neither teacher nor pupil has given any thought to the method
employed, their attention having been wholly engrossed with
success or failure in achieving the result. It is a well established
principle of psychology that the possibility of recall is conditioned by
the system of ideas with which that which we wish to recall has been
identified. The more associations made, or the more perfect our
control of any system of ideas which involves that which we wish to
remember, the greater the probability of bringing to mind the fact
when we need it. As Professor James puts it: “Of two men with the
same outward experience, the one who thinks over his experiences
most, and weaves them into the most systematic relations with each
other, will be the one with the best memory.” And along with this fact
is another equally important for the teacher: that we may not hope to
increase the native power of retentiveness. The child whom we
teach may be endowed by nature with little or much power of this
sort, and we cannot change it; but we can improve his method of
memorizing.
The first step in memorizing is to understand. If we try to commit to
memory the words of a book when we do not fully comprehend the
meaning, we are depending very largely on our desultory memory,
i.e. upon our ability to remember the things because they have been
once present in mind; and our efficiency will depend wholly upon our
quality of native retentiveness. But, unfortunately, for want of
knowledge of a better method, children are frequently satisfied that
they are doing adequate work when they are repeating over and
over again the words which they have made little attempt to
comprehend.
Even when the sense of the words to be memorized is fairly clear,
it is uneconomical to employ this method of accretion. The child who
studies the poem by saying first the first line, then the second, then
the first and second, then the third, then the first, the second, and the
third, depends upon mere repetition, not upon thinking, for the
persistence of the impression. It has been demonstrated that on the
basis of the amount of time required this method is uneconomical.
Add to this the fact that after the first complete repetition, later
successful recall depends upon the efficiency of the system of
associated ideas which have been established; and there can be no
doubt of the folly of such a method of procedure. It is no wonder that
children who commit to memory in this way forget so readily. They
may have understood what they said when they first repeated the
poem; but the method they employed almost precludes the building
up of a system of associated ideas on the basis of careful thinking.
 If the child has read aloud and understands the selection to be
memorized, the next thing to be done is to analyze it into its principal
thought units; and then each of these large units of thought may be
again carefully scrutinized until a full appreciation of the thought has
been accomplished. The thought of the whole may then be stated,
using as far as possible the words of the author, and then each of
the subdivisions or thought units may be examined in more detail in
order to get the shade of meaning that is brought out by this or that
word, by relationship of coördination or subordination of clause, or
the modification indicated by this word or phrase. It will be
necessary, as the work progresses on the large thought units into
which the selection has been divided, to return constantly to the
whole thought in order to keep clear the relationship of the part to the
whole, and to establish the part in the system of ideas which we
seek to build up. “All the evidence we have goes to show that the
method of memorizing by wholes is most economical.”[12] If children
were taught to work in this way, there would be little drudgery about
memorizing. The careful, thoughtful study once completed,
memorization has been accomplished. The energy and attention of
the child have not been centered upon a merely technical process,
but he has been concerned mainly in trying to appreciate fully the
thought that he is to make his own. Memory work of this kind is
highly educative, not merely because of the product, but also
because of the process employed. Suppose, for example, you wish
children to memorize Stevenson’s Bed in Summer:—

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
 To have to go to bed by day?

You would begin by reading the whole poem, calling to mind the
experiences of the children in going to bed before dark on the long
summer evenings and of the cold, dark winter mornings when they
may have dressed before it was light. The number and the kind of
explanations which will need to be made will, of course, depend
upon the previous experience of the children and the time of the
year. Then the poem might be read again a time or two. After this
preliminary work has been done, you might ask some one to tell you
the story. Let us suppose that the reply was about as follows: “A little
boy had to get up before it was light in the winter, and go to bed
before it was dark in the summer. In summer when he went to bed
he heard the birds hopping on the trees and the people walking past
him in the street. He thought it was hard to have to go to bed when it
was still daylight, when he wanted so much to play.” If the main facts
were less well told, or if there were notable omissions, it would be
necessary to get at least an outline of the main thought before
proceeding. Now we are ready to call the attention of the children to
three main thoughts, each told in a stanza. First, the difference
between getting up in winter and going to bed in summer. Second,
what did the boy in the story see and hear when he went to bed
before dark? Third, how do you feel when you have to go to bed in
summer while the sky is still so clear and blue, and you would like so
much to play?
It will be very easy to get the thought of the first stanza impressed
in the words of the author. It will help to read the whole poem again,
the teacher meanwhile asking the children to pay particular attention
to the way the author says it. Possibly there will be some difficulty
with “quite the other way,” but skillful questioning will get the correct
form. And so for the second and third stanzas; if the thought is clear,
the words will follow very easily. After each thought has been thus
carefully developed, with the whole story always in mind, and the
words of the author have been made the vehicle of expressing the
thought by the children, it will be advantageous to have the poem
repeated several times by individual members of the class. In this
repetition the dramatic element should enter as far as possible. To
suit the action to the word, to really feel what one recites, helps
greatly to strengthen the impression, and thus aids recall.
It may be thought that the illustration used was particularly well
adapted to illustrate the theory advanced. Or some teacher may say
that children would memorize Bed in Summer without teaching. It
may, therefore, not be out of place to suggest that the best way to
discover for one’s self the value of the method is to try it. It will work
equally well if the subject is Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, a
selection from the Declaration of Independence, the Twenty-third
Psalm, or any other masterpiece of English.
The principles to be applied are essentially the same even when
verbatim memorization is not required. To get lasting control of the
facts of geography or of history, one must have reduced them to a
system. There must be a relating of less important facts to more
important, a clustering of important points of reference to any other
facts which are logically related. This, indeed, is just what scientific
organization means, and the main purpose of such organization is to
render facts more available, to save labor. The memory is relieved of
much of its burden when once we have established the relationship
of cause and effect, of equivalence, of similarity, or of analogy
among facts. It is this association of ideas on a logical basis which
counts most in the possibility of recall.
It is quite possible for children, very early in their school life, to
begin to apply these principles and to become conscious of the fact
that the way they do their work has an important bearing upon the
ease with which it is accomplished and the permanency of the
results gained. The work of the teacher is not done by merely
dictating the method, even though that may help greatly to establish
right habits of study; our best assurance that the method will be
employed when the teacher is not present to direct the work is found
in our knowledge that the children not only habitually, but also when
a question arises or there is a suggestion of another way,
consciously employ the right method.
Teaching children how to form habits: Our next problem is to
inquire how children may be led consciously to employ the principles
of habit formation when their school work involves work of this type.
They can be taught the function of drill or repetition, and can be led
to see under what conditions such work will prove most successful. It
is not difficult to prove to a boy that his listless, half-hearted work in
repeating the spelling of the words he has missed is making little
improvement in his ability to spell them. A boy can be led to see by
an illustration in which he himself is the chief actor that concentrated
attention will make much difference. Let him see how much he can
accomplish in ten minutes, and thus get him in the habit of using this
means when he finds that he is not working up to his normal
capacity. Show him that a new impetus will be given and that
attention will be easier if he reverses the order, writes instead of
spelling orally, or closes his eyes and attempts to visualize the
words. No matter what motive the boy has for the attempt he is
making, he will welcome the suggestions which make the task
easier.
Later you can teach this same boy the need of verification before
drilling himself whenever a question of fact is raised. In the
beginning, of course, the doubt or question will be raised by the
teacher, and it will be the chief work of the child to find an authority
and assure himself that he has the right idea or form before
proceeding. A big step in the education of a child has been taken
when he is able to say, “I know I am right, because I have consulted
the commonly accepted authority.” Occasions will arise constantly in
the study of any subject where, instead of asking the teacher or
being satisfied with information which is of questionable validity, the
child should, as a matter of habit, turn to the authority for verification.
It is not at all unusual for children to have misgivings, but they too
frequently end by going ahead and ignoring their doubt. To respect
one’s doubts, to be somewhat critical, is significant for education
only when one is led thereby to endeavor to discover the truth.
Children will work to advantage when they realize that these steps of
doubt, verification, repetition, with undivided attention, are essential
to good work.
Children can be taught the necessity of accuracy in practice. Any
day’s work in a schoolroom will furnish illustrations of the danger of
lapses and the necessity of guarding against them. The fallacy of the
notion that “this one doesn’t count” can be made just as clear to
children as to adults. So, too, the mistaken notion that cramming
may be substituted for systematic work day in and day out can be
brought to the attention of pupils.
It would be a good plan for every teacher to ask herself questions
like the following: “What would the children do if I did not carefully
direct their work?” “How much better able are they now to work
independently than they were at the beginning of the year?” “Can
they take a book and find in it the part which bears upon the topic
assigned for study, and do they do it with the least possible waste of
time and energy?” “Do they know how to memorize; what it means to
concentrate their attention; how to reflect?” “Are they more open-
minded or more dogmatic on account of the year spent with me?”
“Have they established the habit of verification?” “Do they appreciate
the method to be employed in habit formation?” To answer these
questions honestly will give the teacher some idea of her success as
a teacher, for the teacher’s goal is realized in proportion as her
pupils have advanced in power to work independently of her
guidance or control.
In teaching children how to study, it will be well to devote whole
periods to this type of exercise. The teacher will gain much in the
progress which her class will make by taking a period frequently
during which she studies with the children. By example rather than
by precept, by guiding children in correct methods of study and then
making them conscious that they have done their work to the best
possible advantage, rather than by telling them what to do, she will
secure the maximum of results in her endeavor to teach children
how to study.

For Collateral Reading

F. M. McMurry, How to Study.
Lida B. Earhart, Teaching Children to Study, Chapter VIII.

Exercises.
 1. What is the relation between a knowledge of the principles of teaching and
the attempt to teach children how to study?
2. How would you teach a boy to study his spelling lesson?
3. What exercises would you give your pupils to make them able to use books to
the best advantage?
4. State five problems which you have assigned to your pupils which seem to
you to have furnished a sufficient motive for study.
5. Which would be better as an assignment for a class in history: “Study the
topic of slavery for to-morrow”; or, “Try to find out why slaves were not kept in the
Northern states”; or, “Did all of the people in the Northern states believe that
slavery should be abolished?”
6. What is the advantage in individual or group assignments? Give a list of such
assignments which you have recently given to your class.
7. Why is it necessary in studying to restate the problem under consideration at
frequent intervals?
8. When children study, should they try to remember all that they read in their
books?
9. Is it wise to have children critical of each other’s contributions during a
recitation?
10. How could you hope to train children to discriminate between the material of
greater and of less importance when they read books to find the answers to their
problems?
11. What do you think of the success of a study period where ten problems are
given, each independent of the others?
12. How would you expect children to verify the conclusions which they reach in
solving their problems in geography, nature study, or arithmetic?
13. Take any poem of from four to ten stanzas, and have your pupils commit it to
memory as a whole by reading it over and discussing the thought as often as may
be necessary. Take another poem of equal length and of equal difficulty, according
to your judgment, and have them commit it to memory line by line and stanza by
stanza. (A good plan would be to take four stanzas for each test from the same
long poem.) Three weeks after each selection is learned, without suggesting to the
pupils that the selection is to be called for again, find out what part of each
selection can be recalled.
14. How could you teach your pupils that the repetitions which count when
studying a spelling lesson are the ones which are made with attention
concentrated upon the work in hand?
 15. Is a study period in the schoolroom properly regarded as a rest period for
teachers and pupils?
16. Are the children you teach better able to get along without a teacher than
they were when they came to you? What evidence can you give to show that they
can work independently?
 CHAPTER IX

R E V I E W O R E X A M I N AT I O N L E S S O N

The review or the examination, in so far as methods of teaching

are concerned, present the same problem. We seek by means of
exercises of this type to bring about a better organization of
knowledge, to test the efficiency of our work by finding out whether
or not pupils can, when put to the test, utilize the knowledge or
habits which we have labored to make available for them, whether
they are actuated by the ideals and purposes which we have sought
to inculcate, whether they do actually employ the most economical
methods of work when they meet a situation which challenges their
strength. It will be recognized at once that work of this sort is a part
of every recitation. But for our own satisfaction, and, possibly, in
order to meet the requirements which may be imposed by those
higher in authority, we may at times feel the need for a stated
exercise of this sort.
A review should mean a new view, a placing of facts in their true
relationship. It should mean a clearer view of the topic or the subject
which the children have been studying. It avails little to go over the
ground that has already been covered more rapidly. The purpose to
be accomplished is not to fix in mind a series of unrelated facts. In
our discussion of memory we had occasion to call attention to the
fact that recall of past experiences was conditioned by the number
and the quality of the associations which had been established. And
it is not simply a matter of recall. The use that we can make of a fact
depends upon our ability to relate it logically to other facts. It is quite
possible that a man of great native retentiveness might be able to
recall thousands of facts, and yet be stupid, utterly unable to do the
thinking required for effective action. To bring about such an
organization of ideas demands that from day to day the new facts or
principles that are learned be consciously related to the old. It will not
be economical to put off all reviewing until the end of the month, or
quarter, or term. The step taken in advance to-day can be properly
appreciated only when it is seen in relation to that which has gone
before; and the work of the past week or month will, in turn, by this
additional effort be seen in truer perspective.
There are, however, convenient units into which subjects naturally
divide themselves; and when one of these units has been
completed, it may be well to take a period or two for the express
purpose of review. We may then clear up any misconceptions, give a
chance for additional verification and application of the knowledge
thus far gained. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the review
which really counts is one in which the teacher works with the
children, guides them and instructs them, rather than sits in
judgment over them. There is nothing more disastrous to the best
type of work than the idea on the part of children that the review
lesson is the teacher’s opportunity to ask catch questions, or to
overemphasize unimportant details. Children respond very quickly in
such a situation by their endeavor to cram, with little or no effort at
organization, all of the facts that they have been taught.
A convenient stimulus to the proper sort of review is found in the
requirement that pupils prepare an abstract or topical outline of the
ground which has been covered, and submit it, preferably from
memory, for class criticism and discussion. If the teacher asks
questions, she should be very careful to see that they are questions
of large scope which demand organization, or still better the
application of organized knowledge. This brings us to the problem of
testing.
The only adequate test of school education, as of all other
education, is action. The nearer we can in our tests reproduce the
conditions which will confront the child in actual life, the better. Not
that we can always have him actually present in the situation; but
when that is impossible, we can present for his consideration ideal
situations which correspond to those which he will later find. The
possibilities of presenting precisely the test which he will meet and is
meeting in life are, I believe, much greater than most examiners
suspect. We have discovered after many years that the best test of a
child’s ability to spell in the only situation in which he will ever need
to spell is to test him in that situation; i.e. by judging his ability in
writing words in connected discourse. The way to discover whether
one can speak or write grammatically is to listen to him speaking or
reading what he has written, and not to ask him to recite rules of
grammar. The only real test of a child’s ability to give adequate oral
expression to the story or poem is to see whether or not he can
make clear the thought and furnish enjoyment to others, preferably
to those who have not before heard the selection which he reads.
We can assure ourselves that we have awakened an interest in
literature and history, when we know that children read good books
other than those which we compel them to read. The success of
manual work, the time spent in art or music, ought certainly to be
measured by ability to make and to decorate, the singing of songs,
and the desire to hear music, or to see pictures. The more occasions
that can be found for the application of the arithmetic we teach in
actual measurements and computations which have real significance
to children, the better will children understand their work, and the
more certain we can be of their future efficiency.[13] It is coming to be
a recognized principle of nature study that the common things, the
animals and plants which are significant for our living, are the ones
which should engage our attention; and we expect that children will,
on account of the teaching, enjoy more, take better care of, and
utilize to better advantage the plant and animal life with which they
come in contact. Even in such subjects as history and geography,
one can hope to find just such applications while the child is studying
as are apt to occur in his later life. The presentation of the results of
the study of a country to a school assembly with the aid of pictures
and a lantern, or the interpretation of current events in the light of
their geographic setting will afford no mean test of the children’s
knowledge of geography. The comparison of to-day’s happenings in
the light of the events of a decade or a century ago; the explanation
of the historical reference in the period devoted to literature; the
writing and presentation of a historical drama, will afford as great
application of one’s knowledge as most of us ever make.
Work of the sort indicated above will not only serve to test the
value of the work that children have done, but will also add greatly to
the interest and enthusiasm with which children do their work. We
can scarcely hope that all examinations will satisfy this ideal; but of
this we can be sure, the more work of this kind we do with our pupils,
the firmer will be their grasp upon their work and the greater is apt to
be their power to satisfy even less adequate tests.
Examinations have another function which we as teachers should
not overlook. Any adequate test of children’s abilities is also a test of
our teaching. It will probably not be best for us to try to defend
ourselves by pleading the inadequacy of the test, nor the
backwardness of the pupils when they come to us, nor their
parentage, nor any other less common reason. If children do not
write as well as they should, if they misspell words they commonly
use in their written work, if they cannot tell the story, recite the poem,
solve the problem, describe the geographical area, or relate the
events of the historic period, we had better inquire whether we have
helped them to work to best advantage, whether we have clearly
differentiated the several aspects of our work and have then applied
the methods suitable to accomplish the desired result. There may be
mistakes made, but, all things else being equal, the teacher who
gets results is the best teacher.
We shall do better work, children, teachers, and supervisors, when
we have provided for our use more definite standards or scales by
which to measure our results. There is no reason why we should not
have a scale which would enable us to tell with a fair degree of
accuracy just what the standing of this group of children is in writing,
in ability to perform the fundamental operations in arithmetic, in
spelling, in writing compositions, in discussing the geography of
North America, in decorating a cover for a notebook, or in any other
subject or aspect of their school work. Beginnings have been made
in this direction, and we may hope for more as time passes.[14] As
these units of measure are perfected and applied in examining the
results of school work, we will, of course, hear the cry of those who
will tell us that the best things that a teacher does cannot be
measured. The obvious reply will be that efficiency in accomplishing
results which can be measured need not in any way prevent a
teacher from exercising that influence or doing that sort of work
which is not recorded on examination sheets. Rather it will be found,
I venture, that the efficient teachers, as measured by the results
which we can test, are, on the whole, the teachers that are doing the
noblest work. Strength of personality, appreciation of child nature, a
life which by its example makes for truth and beauty in other lives,
are qualities not uncommon in the teacher who is glad to be judged
by the results which pupils can demonstrate.

For Collateral Reading

W. C. Bagley, The Educative Process, Chapter XXII.
W. W. Charters, Methods of Teaching, Chapter XI.

Exercises.
1. What is the purpose of an examination?
2. Would you be willing, in a review of a large topic in history, to demand fewer
details than in the original study of the topic?
3. What is the value of an outline prepared by pupils as a part of their review
work?
4. Which is the better test of a boy’s ability in English, a high mark in an
examination in grammar, or a well written story of a fishing trip written for a school
paper?
5. Prepare a series of questions which you think might be used to advantage in
the examination of a class that has been studying the geography of Europe.
6. Give as many illustrations as you can of the application of the knowledge
gained in school to situations in which the pupils use their information or skill to
satisfy needs comparable to those which one meets in everyday life.
7. What is meant by saying that a review should mean a new view?
8. Do children commonly fail in examinations when they have been well taught?
9. Should children be promoted solely upon the marks made in examinations?
10. A boy’s average in an examination was 67 per cent. An examination of the
marks he received showed the following results: geography 80 per cent, history
100 per cent, composition 80 per cent, spelling 70 per cent, arithmetic 40 per cent,
grammar 40 per cent, and drawing 60 per cent. The passing mark was 70 per
cent; would you have promoted the boy?
11. How often should reviews be conducted?
12. Should children be notified in advance that examinations will be held on
certain days or weeks of the term?
 CHAPTER X

T H E R E C I TAT I O N L E S S O N

The recitation lesson as commonly conducted consists in having

children tell what they have read in their textbooks. Sometimes the
teacher accepts or even demands that the pupils recite by repeating
the words of the book. Better teaching requires rather that they
render the thought of the author in their own language. In this
chapter we shall discuss some of the worthy ends which may be
accomplished by such an exercise, some of the common
deficiencies in work of this type, and the modifications which are
advisable in the light of the principles already enunciated.
The recitation lesson commonly tests the pupil’s memory for facts.
The questions asked and answered serve to reveal to the teacher
the knowledge or lack of it on the part of the pupil. In a way this
testing also gives the teacher some idea of the amount of work done
by the pupil. The great weakness of work of this kind is found in the
tendency to demand and to accept words, the rehearsing of facts
unrelated and unorganized. Of course this need not be true, since it
is entirely within the power of the teacher to frame her questions in
such a way that the pupil’s grasp on the whole topic rather than his
memory for isolated facts is tested.
The recitation which tests the pupil’s ability to present in orderly
fashion the substance of the thought found in the sections assigned
in the book for study is of genuine value. The topical recitation
affords an opportunity to develop on the part of children the ability to
stand on their feet and speak to a question for some minutes. And it
may be suggested in this connection that we should develop more
power of this sort than is commonly found in our schools. The ability
to express one’s self adequately on the topic under consideration will
always make for effectiveness in social life. It would be well to test
the progress of our pupils from grade to grade by their ability to
speak more effectively and for a longer period as they advance
through the school, on some topic connected with their school work.
When pupils are required not simply to recite on some topic which
is presented for their consideration, but are required to furnish their
own outline and to recite on the basis of their own organization of the
selections which they have read, the recitation may become a
valuable exercise in thinking. The success of work of this kind will
depend upon the definiteness with which the problem or aim of the
work has been provided. It will not require much thought simply to
follow the paragraph headings or marginal notes of the author and to
present the organization as a basis for recitation. If, however, a
problem has been suggested the solution of which may be found in
the pages assigned for study, then the recitation may test the pupil’s
power to analyze and organize the material which the book provides.
And this is the only test of a thorough mastery of the book. We do
not read to find out everything that an author says. Our needs may
demand a very different ordering of facts, we may use facts in
entirely new relations, and may ignore much that was essential from
a different point of view. Children have read their textbooks
thoroughly when they have derived from these texts the facts or
ideas which are essential in the solution of their problem, the
satisfaction of the aim which they hope to realize.
This ability to use to best advantage a book is a very valuable
accomplishment. When the recitation lesson accomplishes this
result, it justifies its use. Too frequently we find adults who seem to
feel that they must try to gather all of the knowledge and must try to
follow none other than the author’s point of view in their reading.
These persons read one book, and, as a result, believe one theory. It
seems not to disturb them greatly that the next book they read takes
the opposite point of view and that they range themselves on that
side of the question. Books are, or at least ought to be, our servants,
not our masters, and in the handling of books in his regular school
work the child ought to come to realize their true function. There is
no greater proof of a lack of thought than the ready acceptance of
whatever one finds in print.
There is great danger in the use of textbooks that children and
teachers will become satisfied with words, that they will come to
think that the repetition of the formula of the textbook is proof of
knowledge. Textbooks are all too often merely books of texts. They
have been made frequently enough by those who possess a very
wide knowledge of the field in which they write; and by some strange
process of thought they have apparently reached the conclusion that
the way to make a subject simple is to condense it. Many of our most
used textbooks are merely summaries or outlines of the subject
treated. They lack richness of detail, and state conclusions instead of
furnishing a large number of experiences, from which one may,
through processes of logical thought, derive the generalizations of
the subject. Take, for example, most of the textbooks in history for
elementary schools, and read carefully upon any topic selected at
random, and then ask yourself just what these words mean to
twelve-year-old children; or, better still, ask these children who
repeat so glibly the words or reproduce the statements of the book
just what they mean by the words they use. Try to discover whether
they have any adequate knowledge of facts, or any command of
images, which would make possible the generalizations which they
give as a result of the process of thought. Remember that a textbook
is not logical for children because it has been logically arranged by
the scholar. The test is rather to be found in the pupil’s ability to
reproduce in his own thinking the steps which have made possible
the conclusions of the author.
Any wide-awake teacher can make her work more interesting and
more significant for children, if she will carefully provide for the
enrichment of the text. The sources from which data can be
gathered, regardless of the subject under consideration, are almost
without number. Especially to be recommended are the standard
works in the subjects. It will be interesting to discover that children
would rather read Parkman than to study the text in which some less
competent person has endeavored to tell his story in a few
paragraphs which mean absolutely nothing to the child. The
magazines which publish articles of wide social interest will furnish
much helpful material. There is no school that may not greatly enrich
its work by an appeal to the actual experiences of the children and
by carefully directed observations and experiments. We need our
textbooks as a summary, as a convenient condensed outline, or as
books of reference; but we must provide as best we can other books
of reference which will furnish the details which are impossible in the
limited number of pages allowed to the text. In every room of every
school a library of books, pamphlets, magazine articles, and
illustrative material should be found, and every teacher should
expect to increase this collection and to improve its quality as the
years go by.
It will give new meaning to notebooks and note-taking, if both
teacher and children realize that the books thus prepared are a real
addition to the texts used. A comparison of the work done by
different members of the class will add interest in the work. One of
the greatest deficiencies of the recitation lesson is the danger that
nothing new will be presented. It is not intellectually stimulating to
listen to others who repeat simply the thought with which you are
already familiar. Where good notebook work is done and reported
upon, the chance for new ideas, the stimulus to thought, through the
presentation of new material, will greatly strengthen the work.
A tendency in work of this type to accept vague and indefinite
answers is another argument against the recitation lesson which
consists merely in rehearsing the words of the book. Statements are
apt to be vague when ideas are vague, and we may not expect ideas
to be very clear when the child lacks experience. The child’s power
of expression, aside from the difference in original talent in this
direction, is conditioned first of all by his acquaintance with things
and processes. The recitation lesson, as it is ordinarily conducted,
gives little opportunity for this sort of firsthand knowledge. To work at
the sand table, to construct with wood, clay, paper, or yarn, to
experiment, and to observe carefully the working of nature may
mean more for the command of language than much more time
devoted to so-called language lessons. But the effective use of such